Michael Harris II drove in the go-ahead run with a seeing-eye double in the seventh inning to send the Atlanta Braves to a 3-2 win over the visiting New York Mets on Thursday.
The victory gave the Braves a 3-1 series win and cut the Mets’ lead in the National League East to 3 1/2 games. It is the first time the Mets have lost a series to a division opponent this season.
Atlanta starter Max Fried (11-4) returned from the concussion injured list and threw seven innings of two-run ball. Kenley Jansen tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his 28th save.
Mets starter Jacob deGrom (2-1) retired 12 straight batters before giving up a two-out since to Vaughn Grissom in the seventh. Seth Lugo then replaced deGrom and yielded Harris’ hit that scored Grissom all the way from first base.
Nationals 3, Padres 1
Nelson Cruz drew a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk from Padres closer Josh Hader with one out in the ninth inning to break a tie, leading visiting Washington to a win over San Diego.
Keibert Ruiz followed with a sacrifice fly for the Nationals’ final run in the opener of a four-game series.
Cesar Hernandez opened the inning with a single to right off Padres starter Yu Darvish, who then retired Joey Meneses on an infield popout. Alex Call singled to center, prompting Padres manager Bob Melvin to replace Darvish with Hader. The left-hander hit former Padre Luke Voit with a full-count pitch to loaded the bases before walking Cruz to force in Hernandez. Call scored on Ruiz’s flyout.
Astros 21, White Sox 5
Alex Bregman clubbed a pair of two-run homers and had a career-high six RBIs as Houston routed host Chicago.
Bregman belted a two-run homer during a six-run fourth inning and another in the sixth. The Astros set a season high for runs and matched the club record with 25 hits to split the four-game set after losing the first two. Bregman finished 4-for-6, adding two doubles.
Houston’s Kyle Tucker and Christian Vazquez also posted four hits apiece and combined for five RBIs. Chas McCormick hit a three-run homer and had five RBIs as Houston made history in the ballpark by posting the most runs ever by an opponent.
Cardinals 13, Rockies 0
Albert Pujols hit a grand slam for his 690th career homer and drove in five runs as St. Louis rolled past visiting Colorado.
Pujols’ 16 career grand slams are tied for 10th most all-time with Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Dave Kingman. Lars Nootbaar went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and three runs for the Cardinals, who completed a three-game sweep.
Adam Wainwright (9-8) fired seven shutout innings and struck out seven for the win. Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela (3-7) gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Rays 7, Royals 1
Luis Patino turned in his best start of 2022, Yandy Diaz homered and drove in three runs, and Tampa Bay beat Kansas City in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Recalled from Triple-A Durham after being demoted on July 23, Patino (1-0) tossed 5 2/3 scoreless frames in his fourth start. He allowed four hits, walked two and fanned four over a season-high 86 pitches.
Diaz went 2-for-4 with three RBIs before leaving after rounding third base awkwardly in the seventh inning. Tampa Bay’s Christian Bethancourt homered, and Kansas City’s Michael Massey hit his first major league home run.
Pirates 8, Red Sox 2
Bryan Reynolds homered twice and Kevin Newman matched Reynolds’ 3-for-4 night as Pittsburgh won the finale of a three-game series against visiting Boston.
Reynolds tagged Red Sox starter Josh Winckowski (5-6) for two-run shots in the first and fifth innings (his third and fourth homers in the last three games), drove in four runs and scored three. Ben Gamel’s two-run double in the third also helped Pittsburgh snap a six-game skid.
JT Brubaker (3-10) backed up his team’s 10-hit effort by dealing seven shutout innings. Tommy Pham and Rafael Devers drove in runs for Boston, which had won its previous three games.
Brewers 5, Dodgers 3
Andrew McCutchen homered twice and scored three runs to help Milwaukee to a win against visiting Los Angeles.
Hunter Renfroe had a two-run homer among his three hits for the Brewers, who earned a split of the four-game series.
Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes (9-5) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two. Devin Williams struck out the side in the ninth to earn his eighth save.
Blue Jays 9, Yankees 2
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run second inning and spoil the home debut of Frankie Montas as Toronto opened a pivotal four-game series with a victory over slumping New York.
Toronto beat the Yankees for the fifth time in 13 meetings this season and moved within nine games of New York’s American League East lead.
Blue Jays leadoff man George Springer had five singles, including an RBI single that preceded Guerrero’s 26th homer. Alejandro Kirk added an RBI double along with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.
Diamondbacks 5, Giants 0
Zac Gallen struck out a career-high 12 batters as visiting Arizona salvaged a split of its four-game series against San Francisco.
Gallen (9-2) ran his unbeaten streak to 12 games with 7 1/3 innings of four-hit ball. He has not allowed a run in 21 1/3 innings. Josh Rojas and Jake McCarthy led a 13-hit attack with three hits apiece for the Diamondbacks.
Evan Longoria had two of the four hits for the Giants. Logan Webb (11-6) was charged with all five runs, just three of which were earned, in 4 2/3 innings.
Rangers 10, Athletics 3
Texas snapped out of a collective batting slump, getting home runs from Mark Mathias and Nathaniel Lowe in a victory over Oakland to split a four-game series in Arlington, Texas.
Mathias hit a two-run homer and finished with two hits and two runs in his first start with the Rangers. He was acquired from Milwaukee this month as part of the Matt Bush trade. Texas starter Dane Dunning (3-6) picked up the win, giving up two runs on four hits in six innings.
Sheldon Neuse belted a two-run home run for the Athletics. Zach Logue (3-7) was tagged for seven runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Cubs 3, Orioles 2
Willson Contreras homered twice and Adrian Sampson threw 5 2/3 shutout innings to lift Chicago to a victory over host Baltimore in a makeup game.
Baltimore starter Spenser Watkins was stellar for 5 2/3 innings other than issuing Contreras’ first long ball. Watkins (4-3) allowed five hits and didn’t issue a walk.
With an error and a Jorge Mateo single, the Orioles put two runners on base with one out in the ninth against Brandon Hughes. Cedric Mullins lined into a double play to end the game as Hughes, a rookie, recorded his first career save.
–Field Level Media
